The Curse of Hades *MATURE*

Chapter 12; crescendo

Thanks for the patience :)

* * *

Harper didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, she was part beast, a princess, and a warrior so really, she should have little to fear. But on the other hand, she really, really disliked spiders.

"Your brother is a spider?" She swallowed the bile that threatened to rise, willing herself to not picture a giant spider-man threatening to eat her. It wasn't working.

Hades grunted, wringing his hand through his dark hair, a scowl still present on his face. "No, thank the Gods for their mercy. He just rules over the aranea with an iron fist, bidding them his dirty work. They're vicious creatures, and he's equally as bad."

With surprisingly steady hands, Harper took a sip of the now cold cocoa, if only to let herself think. She seriously doubted Hades would ever harm her, but it was clear the topic of Araneas was a sensitive one and she didn't wish to anger him, or hurt his feelings. 

Harper met his gaze over the rim of the mug. "Why do you let him rule if he is such a nuisance? I mean, you are the God of the underworld. Can't you just...kick him out?" 

Cerberus snorted and she shot him a dirty look. The hell hound didn't bother hiding his amusement, for which Harper really wished she could kick him in the family jewels. Prick.

"I have, he's in the forest of the condemned." Hades arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"We just didn't anticipate him making a kingdom out of it," Cerberus offered, "truth be told it should have been a death sentence."

"Imagine my surprise when the damn spiders, rather than feasting on my brother and wiping him out of existence, took him in as their King," Hades drawled. "It's true that my power is superior to his, but the aranea are creatures with their own rules and jurisdiction, and even to a God their poison can be fatal. I had little choice but to leave Araneas be, and for the most part, he stayed in the forest. A few hundred years ago, per Persephone's suggestion, we struck a deal; he'd be left to rule the condemned in peace, so long as he didn't bother the other souls."

Hades' gaze darkened, "except now that promise is broken, clearly, and so we will be paying my brother dearest a visit."

* * *

Harper wasn't all too thrilled at the prospect of meeting her future brother-in-law. If only for the fact that doing so required travelling into a forest of condemned souls that was filled with giant, poisonous spiders. Who wouldn't be thrilled? She paused her pacing, willing her tremulous thoughts to calm down.

After the meeting in the library, there was little else to be said and so Hades and Cerberus had left her to make the necessary preparations for the trip. With little else to do, Harper had hidden in her chambers, craving the alone time that was required to process the events of last night.

She didn't know where to even begin. The night had been surprisingly fun and tender, and she saw a side of Hades she hadn't seen before, at least not in this lifetime. He had touched her in ways no other man had and a large part of her craved more. And yet, she had watched someone dear to her, someone who played an important role in her childhood, be tossed from the sky as if she were nothing.

Harper wanted to cry and scream but she had no more tears left, and there was little use for them, anyway. Crying would resolve nothing; it would not bring the dead back, and it certainly wouldn't make her feel better. She huffed, hands clenched by her sides, eyeing the forest surrounding the castle.